The present invention relates to the field of vehicle devices, and, more particularly, to a tracking and alerting system for a vehicle.
Motor vehicles, such as passenger cars, trucks, busses, fleet vehicles, etc. are widely used and knowing the locations of such vehicles is often desired. For example, should a vehicle be stolen, it would be beneficial to know the vehicle""s location so that authorities could be promptly and accurately directed to retrieve the vehicle. Indeed, the tracking system could plot the getaway path of the thief.
For a company with hired drivers, it may be desirable to know the driver""s whereabouts during the course of the day. Similarly, a rental car agency or other fleet operator, for example, may wish to know the whereabouts of its fleet of vehicles.
It may also be desirable to track the location of a vehicle as it is used throughout the course of a normal day. For parents of younger or older drivers, for example, knowledge of the vehicle""s location may provide some assurance that the driver is at designated locations and following a prescribed route.
A number of patents disclose various systems and approaches to tracking vehicles. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,223,844 discloses a tracking system including a control center and a mobile unit installed in the vehicle. The mobile unit may send security warnings to the command center via a wireless transceiver. Position information for the vehicle is determined using a GPS receiver at the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,043 discloses a similar system which may send one or more preprogrammed telephone messages to a user when away from the vehicle. The user may remotely access location information or cause certain commands to be carried out by entering a personal identification number (PIN).
The widespread availability and use of the Internet has prompted a number of vehicle tracking systems to also make use of the Internet. For example, TelEvoke, Inc. proposed such a system in combination with Clifford Electronics. The system was to provide notification, control and tracking services via the telephone or the Internet. Users could be notified via phone, e-mail, or pager of events such as a car alarm being triggered. Users could control the vehicle remote devices via phone, web, or PDA such as unlocking car doors. Additionally, users could track TelEvoke-enabled vehicles on the Internet or via the telephone. An Internet map could be viewed by the user showing the actual and prior vehicle locations. TelEvoke offered its services via a centralized fully automated Network Operations Center. To reduce the communications costs, it was proposed to use the control channel of the cellular telephone network.
Many conventional vehicle tracking units include many input and output connections. Accordingly, such units may be difficult to install in a vehicle. This is especially so since the space available to access and connect to vehicle wires is likely to be restricted. Accordingly, errors in the initial installation may occur. Accurate diagnosis of any such errors may be time consuming and add further to the installation costs. Maintenance of an installed system may also be complicated if each connection must be individually checked and rechecked.
In view of the foregoing background, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle tracking system which may selectively provide alarm alerts and related methods.
This and other objects, features, and advantages in accordance with the present invention are provided by a vehicle tracking system for a vehicle of a type including at least one vehicle sensor. The vehicle tracking system may include a vehicle tracking unit including a vehicle position determining device, a wireless communications device, and a controller connected to the wireless communications device and the vehicle position determining device. Furthermore, the controller may cooperate with the vehicle position determining device and the wireless communications device to send an alert message based upon the at least one vehicle sensor. The controller may also be switchable to an override mode to prevent sending of the alert message based upon receiving an alert override message. The vehicle tracking system may further include a monitoring station for receiving the alert message and for sending the alert override message.
More particularly, the controller may be switchable between armed and disarmed modes based upon the at least one vehicle sensor, and the alert message may be sent when the controller is in the armed mode. Further, the controller may send the alert message based upon the vehicle changing location. Thus, for example, if the vehicle was broken down on the side of the road and the user had to leave the vehicle until a tow truck arrived, the user could advantageously place the controller in the armed mode so he will be alerted if the vehicle is moved before the tow truck arrives. Yet, the user may also cause the controller to be switched to the override mode upon the tow truck picking up the car so that he will no longer receive the alert indication, resulting in a savings in wireless communications costs. In some embodiments the alert message may also be sent when the controller is in the disarmed mode.
In addition, the vehicle tracking unit may further include a housing, and the vehicle position determining device, the wireless communications device, and the controller may be carried by the housing. By way of example, the at least one vehicle sensor may include a vehicle ignition switch, and the controller may disengage the override mode based upon the vehicle ignition switch being switched between on and off positions. Also, the at least one vehicle sensor may include an operable vehicle device which may be controllable by a transmitter to be carried by a user, and the controller may disengage the override mode based upon the operable vehicle device being controlled by the transmitter. Further, the override mode may be disengaged based upon an override disengage message sent by the monitoring station. The operable vehicle device may include at least one of a vehicle alarm device, a keyless entry device, an engine starter interrupt device, and a remote starter device, for example.
The controller may also cooperate with the vehicle position determining device and the wireless communications device to send vehicle position information to the monitoring station. By way of example, the vehicle position determining device may be a Global Positioning System (GPS) device, and the wireless communications device may be a cellular telephone communications device. Further, the cellular telephone communications device may communicate over a cellular control channel, for example.
Additionally, the monitoring station may include a user interface for accepting at least one command from a user and sending at least one alert to the user. The user interface may be at least one of an Internet interface or a telephone network interface, for example.
A vehicle tracking method aspect of the invention is for a vehicle of a type including at least one vehicle sensor and a vehicle tracking unit, such as the one described briefly above. The method may include selectively sending an alert override message from the monitoring station to the vehicle tracking unit, and switching the vehicle tracking unit to an override mode based upon receiving the alert override message from the monitoring station. Furthermore, an alert message may be sent from the vehicle tracking unit to the monitoring station based upon the at least one vehicle sensor if the vehicle tracking unit is not in the override mode, and the alert message may be prevented from being sent if the vehicle is in the override mode.